Light Brings Salt
Volume 2, Issue 42
Iron Range Bible
Church
Dedicated to the
Systematic Exposition of the Word of God
Thoughts on Testing
for Believers
G. Harry Leafe
When we encounter
trials and tests of our faith, whether suddenly or—as in every life—regularly,
James says that we are to consider it as “total joy.” In making that assertion
he assumes a certain frame of reference.
First, that we understand the dynamic relationship between the tests of
our faith and maturity, and secondly, that our maturity in Christ relates to
our inheritance in Christ.
In the case of
personal growth, to become a mature person requires training and development
through a “ growth process that will take one from
being an immature babe to a fully mature, productive adult. The process
requires parental oversight and guidance. And both the Scriptures and
experience teach us that the process can be quite an ordeal!
The Proverbs tell
us that children are naturally foolish.
Solomon put it this way: “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a
child” (Prov.
The Jewish
Christians who lived in and around
You are not alone
in your, experience. Many others have also chosen to follow the Lord
Jesus Christ as their Messiah. Many of them have experienced the seizure of
their properties, some have even been thrown into
prison. For a good while now you and the others have accepted your tribulations
joyfully. You have tried to help each other the best you could. The Apostle
Paul has also been a great help. Not long ago he was able to raise a large
amount of money from among your gentile brethren. It certainly helped a lot of people. But “Enough is enough!” you say. “Surely
Jesus should have returned by this time, it’s, been thirty years!” “How long
must we endure these hardships?” A short time later you begin to notice that
some of your friends in the Church are no longer there when you meet. You’ve
heard that they’ve gone back to the old system. You think that maybe that’s not
a bad idea. Surely you would be welcomed back. Your old boss may be so glad to
see you come to your senses that he might give you back your old job. You won’t
stop believing in Jesus as your Messiah and Savior, you reason, you’ll just go
through the motions of the Law. You might even lead some of them to believe in
Christ!
What I have just
described is the situation of the recipients of the letter to the Hebrews. In
the letter the writer argues that what they are defecting from is far superior
to what they are going back to. Jesus Christ is superior revelation (1:1-4); He
is superior to Angels, beings held in high regard by the Jews (1:5-2:18); He is
superior to Moses the Law giver (3:1-6); He is superior
to Aaron the Law
interpreter (4:14ff); and His priesthood is superior to that of the old Jewish
order (7:1-28). He demonstrates the superiority of the work of Christ by
contrasting the New Covenant with the Old (8:1-13); the New Sanctuary with the
Old (9:1-10); and the New Sacrifice with the Old (
But what are we to
do? “Encourage one another day after day, . . .lest
any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (
Some years ago I
took flying lessons to obtain a pilots license. During the course of the
instruction, I was taught (by demonstration) how easy it is to become
disoriented in flight when you do not have an outside object with which to
orient yourself—like when flying through a bank of clouds. It is possible to
believe that you are ascending when in fact you are descending. You may believe
that you are flying right-side up when really you are up-side down. They only
way to survive is to trust your instruments. No matter what your senses tell
you, you must trust your instruments.
The Hebrews became disoriented “flying through the clouds of life.” They
were “flying” according to their senses. They never checked the
“instruments”—God’s Word!
“Since we have so
great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every
encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with
endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus the author
and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before
Him endured the cross, despised the shame, and has sat down at the right hand
of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:1-2).
“Don’t let anything
keep you from the finish line,” the writer says. “Many others have done it, and
you can too. But to make it takes
endurance, and you must keep your eyes firmly fixed on the finish line. Great
reward awaits those who run the race successfully.” But then, if it is so
simple, what happened to the Hebrews? They forgot something!
What they forgot is
at once both simple and profound: “You have forgotten the exhortation which is
addressed to you as sons, ‘My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the
Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him; for those whom the Lord loves He
disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives”’ (12:5). It is a quote from Proverbs 3:11-12.
Everything they were experiencing in life was related to this statement. They had failed to orient themselves on the
basis of it. Their regression from
maturity back to being babes again (
God is training us
as His children. Everything we experience in life is a part of that training
process. It is the very same thing James and Paul spoke about. The circumstances
of our lives (stress, pressure, tests of faith) are intended to mature our
faith and equip us to receive our inheritance. They accomplish that as long as
we handle them correctly. And it is our works of faith that prove whether or
not we are handling them correctly (cf.
James 2). It is because of this growth process that the writer states,
“It is for discipline that you endure” (12:7).
The English words
of these verses don’t tell the full story. For example, take the word
“discipline.” We tend to think in terms of the rod, or a belt. But the Greek
word paideia (discipline) means far more than that.
It refers to the whole training and education of children. It involves the
cultivation of mind and morals. It
employs admonition, reproof, and punishment. In this context it is best
understood as “God’s training program.”
The term “faint’
(Gr. ekluo) means to become despondent or
fainthearted, and the term “reproved” (Gr. elegcho)
means to convict or point out a fault.
Another important term is “scourge” (Gr. mastigoo)
which means chastening and training by affliction. With these definitions in
mind, lets develop a paraphrase of the text:
My son, do not take
lightly the training program of the Lord, nor become despondent or fainthearted
when He points out areas in your life that need work, for those whom the Lord
loves He trains as His children, and He chastens and trains by affliction every
son whom He receives. Do you see the
point? Everything that we face in life is a part of God’s training program for
us as His children. Nothing is excepted! And it is through this training program that we
are matured and prepared to receive our inheritance. There is no other program.
In its outworking, God affirms our faith as well as pointing out those areas
that need work. The same circumstances can do both together. Further, God does
not give up on us, He is faithful to the task.
Keep in mind,
however, that the experience of it is not always pleasant. Nor is it intended
to be. We may be called upon to face loneliness, sorrow, illness, pain,
heartache, even death. We are reminded that “All discipline for the moment
seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful” (12:11a). But if we hang in there with
faith and obedience, and with the high expectation which faith brings, it will
accomplish the objective: “yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards
it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (12:11b).